Roberta Writes – Tanka Tuesday: Silver Linings #poetry #TankaTuesday

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Yvette’s Tanka Tuesday challenge is to write a syllabic poem about a silver lining. You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2024/11/26/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-silver-linings-11-26-2024-syllabicpoetry. I am sharing two poems today. One is an older poem that is rhyming verse and the other is a new poem that is a tanka.

The Silver Lining

Clad in dirty shoes and shorts

his face streaked with dirt,

he swoops past like a bird in flight

thrilled with disaster to flirt.

***

Like nothing you’ve ever seen before

the skateboard on which he rides,

a platform piled high with recyclables

no one his wild recklessness chides.

***

A pair of dark eyes, wild and bright

glow beneath his unkempt crop,

he takes a sharp corner rather wide

there is no-one to make him stop.

***

We find our pleasures in different ways

it’s human nature to laugh and enjoy,

he’s found a way to make the most of life

treating his load like a favourite toy.

Positives (tanka)

Finding positives

Of silver or otherwise

Essential to health

Holding on to pain and grief

Eats holes in our minds and souls

My latest watercolour painting of a lighthouse seemed to go well with this topic:

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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106 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Tanka Tuesday: Silver Linings #poetry #TankaTuesday”

  7. Oh Robbie – I LOVE your poetry and watercolour. Lighthouses hold a special place in my heart. It is the symbol that I hold when facing difficult challenges. One of my favourite quotes about lighthouses comes from Anne Lamott: “if you are writing the clearest, truest words you can find and doing the best you can to understand and communicate, this will shine on paper like its own little lighthouse. Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.”

    Your writing epitomizes this quote.

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  11. I know I’ve said it before, but you always wow me! You are so talented, Robbie! Your poems are beautiful! It’s so important to let go of pain and grief. Your first poem is fantastic and captures the youthful spirit so well. And your watercolor should be framed. It’s beautiful!

    Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
    http;//yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com

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      1. we had one last night too. What is going on? I hope yours is settled. Am calling my post ‘Robbie’s Lighthouse’ and I’ll give due attribution, It is a very special sketch. Will be up in a few hours. Thanks Robbie 🙂

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        1. HI John, the world seems to be full of emergencies since the pandemic. Everything is fine here now. Thank you for your concern. I hope all is well on your side of the ocean too. Thank you for the beautiful poem. I am delighted you liked that painting.

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  16. Watercolour is one of my favourite mediums..love the lighthouse…the skateboarder I can relate to as Aston loves his skateboarding “:A pair of dark eyes, wild and bright” sums skateboarers up very well as for me I am always patching the shorts…lol …a lovely post, Robbie xx

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    1. Hi Sadje, thank you. The poem is based on a young man I watched. He is what we call an informal recycler her which is basically a homeless person who goes through people’s garbage to find plastic bottles and other recyclables materials. His delight in the day was amazing.

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      1. When we spent our vacation at my grandparents’ house in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, I had a room under the eaves that directly faced the Two Lights lighthouse. Every night, I’d slip out of bed and crouch at the window watching the light.

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  24. This is a marvelous post with three very different displays of silver linings. I loved the reckless skate boarder – of course. I tried that only once when I was about 45 or 50 and on a walk in a nearby park. Those kids made it look so easy! Kind of like you make water color look easy, but controlling all those strokes and having them come out looking like actual items that go together. It’s a miracle to me. Your second poem is good advice to all of us. We all have to go through painful times, and no one wants holes in their mind or soul. 🙂 Fun post!

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    1. HI Marsha, thank you for your lovely comment. I am always interested in how other people interpret my poems and paintings. I am also interested in how others write and paint. We all learn from each other. PS, I have a story for you (Story Chat). I just need to pull the illustrations together. I go to Japan in a week’s time so I won’t be able to send it until after Christmas. Can you put me in in Feb or March next year. It’s called Sir Chocolate and the Stolen Moon and Stars.

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  26. Wonderful poetry Robbie!

    I especially like the skate board one.

    I love the drawing. You are really branching out!

    So, the Silver Linings, The skateboard poem, may I use that in a post? Full creds of course!

    Not sure when I’ll do the post … within the next 2 months. (holiday season takes up some time)

    I found some art on what I believe to be the cut off ends of skateboards. Sure looks like it in real life. In pics, the boards look flat, but in real life they had the skateboard curve at the end..

    I’ll send you a pic of one in the near future. Theres about 10 -12 faces.

    Resa

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  27. I enjoyed both poems, Robbie. The silver linings always require a bit of struggle or pain, or they wouldn’t be “silver linings.” Both poems seemed to carry that concept well. And a beautiful watercolor, my friend. ❤

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